The Tale of Four

The Tale of Four
Chapter Four

After several long and arduous days on the road we finally arrived at our destination. Not that I knew we were ending up here. By 'here' I mean the place where the purple haired man and the leader lived. It was in the middle of a desert during the summer season. It was freaking hot. I shouldn't complain because at least for most of the trip I had been in a carriage, while the guards and leader were sitting outside. Halfway through our trip everyone besides me had changed their clothes for the desert climate. Unfortunately I had no such change of clothes so I was stuck with my heavy wool garments. It was hot, I was hot and the inside of the carriage was boiling. I don’t think I could have survived the heat much longer when we came to a bustling town in the desert. I have never been to an oasis before, but this was awesome. Out of nowhere there was a town full of people and trees and shade! Just entering the town made me feel cooler, though I know it was just a trick of my mind.

The underground water was so plentiful that there was a water fountain in the town center. A small group of children were playing by the fountain and just having fun. I was so jealous. The town itself wasn't that big, but off in the distance I saw what looked like a palace. It seemed really big and I wondered who was important enough to live there. As I was wondering that we continued on down the street and happened to pass by a group of people. As we neared them, and they noticed us, they bowed in the carriages direction. Now I knew from the first time that I met the leader that he was important, but I also noticed that the way he acted around the purple haired man wasn't that of a superior. I had a good hunch from the beginning that the man had been important. The farther we got from the center of town the closer we got to the palace. In fact I think that the road we were on only lead to that one place.

I, being the person that I am, have never been to a palace before and was quite enthralled with the experience. I had my head sticking out the window as we approached the front gate of the palace. The gates were very tall and very thick. I don't know what type of wood they used to make such a sturdy gate, but I was sure it didn't grow around here naturally. The guards at the gate stopped the carriage and started talking to the leader. He must have informed them to open the gate and let us through, because they hurried away and the next thing I knew the massive doors were opening. When we were through the gate I looked behind me to see the door being closed behind us. I know it was for safety measures, but I still didn't like the feeling of getting locked in. The guards closed the gates by pushing them shut. I found it very impressive that they could do that. The hinges on the doors must be very strong for it to be able to stand the weight. I heard a slight chuckle from the man and I turned around in my seat and sat properly. I just seemed to be making a fool of myself.

We finally reached the front of the palace and I was ushered out of the carriage by the leader who had opened the door for us. The man got out first and offered me his hand to help steady me. Now I have never been one to say no to chivalry, but it was kind of embarrassing for him to do that. I was even more embarrassed when I saw a group of people standing slightly away from the carriage. Some of the women in the crowd were giving me the hairy eyeball. And here we go again. Why couldn’t they just see that they have nothing to worry about? As soon as the both of us were out of the carriage the man was swarmed by the people waiting for him. I could tell from their faces and from the sound of their voices that they were glad to have him back. Some of the people were even crying out of relief. I'm glad that they have him back. When I first saw him he was in ruff shape. These last couple of days has done wonders. Actually the first full day at the inn he was sleeping soundly in his room. Whatever he went through must have exhausted him.

The crowd around us started to shift and I almost got separated from him but he grabbed my arm and we started walking into the palace with everyone else. His firm grip on my arm kept me from leaving his side, but his mind was on other things. As soon as we entered the palace the people from outside were replaced with important looking officials. They swarmed around him like a pack of vultures and started hounding him with what I assumed were questions. This welcoming wasn't as heartwarming as the other one was. I was thrown a few glances and then completely ignored. I didn't mind though. I wasn't planning on becoming chummy with any of these people so I didn't mind being ignored. As we were walking through the hallways I was trying to see what the place actually looked like, but it was to no avail. The crowd around us was too thick. I did notice that we went through a set of very high doors, whatever room I was in it was very large.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a few more minutes of being harassed by the administrators Vincent finally had enough. "Gentleman, please leave for right now, I have had a very long two months and need to get things straightened out. I will call an assembly when I am ready." He said sternly. Hearing the tone of his voice the officials had no choice but to leave until they were summoned.

"Well that could have waited." Colonel Markus remarked.

"It's amazing that they could hide their disappointment so well."

"Yes, they must be sad that you have returned alive. They are nothing but vultures wanting to take your throne."

"Let's leave that for later. First we must summon the wizard Willihem. Do you know if he has returned yet?" Vincent asked.

"I believe so. I will get on of the servants to go and fetch him." Markus replied and hurried away.

As Markus walked away Vincent led the girl further into the throne room. During the journey to the palace she had been fascinated with everything, and now was no exception. She was looking at everything that she could. He was sure that she was full of worry and not being able to communicate was becoming more of a hassle every day. He was sure Willihem could help him out. It only took fifteen minutes for the servant to come back with the wizard in tow. Markus was also with them.

"My Lord Vincent," Willihem said with a bow. "What is it that you need from me? I tried to ask Colonel Markus, but he refused to answer."

"I have nothing to do with this, if you want to know you can just ask Vincent yourself." Markus replied uninterested.

"I believe I just have. Perhaps you should clean out your ears?" He asked with fake concern.

"Will you two knock it off, I just got back and already you are at each other’s throats."

"Sorry My Lord." both replied with a slight bow to Vincent and sending a glare to each other.

"My problem Willihem, is with this girl." He gestured to the girl behind him. She had been watching the interchange between the three men and was trying to hide a smile. "She isn't from here and doesn't know the language. I was hoping that you could figure out a way for us to communicate."

"Well that shouldn't be a problem." Willihem replied approaching the girl. She seemed hesitant to be so close to him, but he just smiled and held out his hand for her to take.

"What's that supposed to do?" Markus interrupted. "Shaking hands isn't going to help."

"It's important for me to touch her, now butt out!" He yelled, then turning his attention back to the girl, offered his hand again. This time she took it and he closed his eyes to concentrate. "This is strange." He mumbled. "I have never seen anything like this before."

"What is it?" Vincent asked before Markus could say something rude. "What is strange?"

"I am able to sense auras because of my magic abilities and I am looking, well more like feeling, hers right now." He explained.

"So what is wrong with it?"

"There is nothing wrong, per say, but it is nothing that this world is capable of producing."

"So you're saying that this girl is from another world?" Markus asked not believing it for a second. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know. If she was brought here by magic than it is magic I have never heard of before." He responded. "However, I will still be able to let her communicate with us."

"How will you do that?" Vincent asked.

"I will use magic to rewire her brain so that she can understand our language. It won't hurt her or anything!" Willihem hurriedly explained when he saw the look on Vincent’s face.

"Will she still understand her own language? Or will that be lost to her?"

"It will only make her understand us. She will lose nothing. Wizards use this technique with each other from across the sea. We have different languages so this is the easiest way for us to understand each other. When they go back they can still understand and speak their original language. May I proceed?" He asked.

"Very well, just don't harm her." Vincent warned.

"I wouldn't dare too." He replied turning around to face the girl. He placed the palm of his hand on the girls forehead and said, "Don't worry, this won't hurt."

"It worked already?" Markus remarked in fake astonishment.

"I was just trying to be soothing!" He yelled angrily
.
"That's enough Markus." Vincent interjected sternly. "Let him do what he must to do without interruption."

"Sorry Vincent. He is just so easy to upset."

Willihem placed his hand back to the girls’ forehead and started to chant. Vincent couldn't see the magic that he was bringing forth, but he could feel it. The girl must have felt it as well because her eyes widened and she tensed up. As the chanting ended Willihem opened his and asked, "Can you understand me?"

The girls’ eyes widened and said, “Hey I can understand you! How are you speaking English all of a sudden?”

“English is your language?” Willihem asked.

“Yeah it is. I’m really glad that I can talk to you now.” She answered.

“What you are speaking is not English, but Alteareon.” Vincent explained. “Willihem used magic on you to help you understand our language.”

“Oh. Well either way is great! Thanks Willihem! I guess magic can fix a lot of problems!”

“And can I ask what your name is?” Vincent ventured.

“Of course. My name is Emma Blackthorn. It is nice finally getting a chance to talk to you. What is your name? I really need to thank you for all the things you have done for me these last couple of days. I’m sure I would be dead right now if you hadn’t taken pity on me.” Emma replied with a bow of the head.

“It is I who should be thanking you.” Vincent murmured. “If you hadn’t gotten me out of those chains I probably would have been killed before Markus ever had the chance to free me. And my name is Vincent.” At the mention of the dungeon Emma’s face tightened with anxiety.

“Yes that was a pretty terrible day.” She agreed. “But your name is Markus?” She directed this question towards Markus of course.

“Yes that is my name.” He replied. “I am Colonel Markus, aid to the King of Bastion.”

Before Markus could continue Vincent interrupted. “I think you would have a lot of questions for us about this place. I also have a lot of questions for you as well. I know from Willihem that you are not from here and I would like to discuss everything in detail later. Until then I think you would like to freshen up and have a little rest. Dinner will be prepared shortly and we can talk after that. Is that alright with you?”

“Yes I am fine with that. If you know that I am not from here then that is much easier for me. Again thank you so much for helping me thus far. I really do appreciate it Vincent.” Emma replied.

“You are very welcome. I will have a servant escort you to the room you will be staying in.” He said waving his hand. In seconds a servant appeared, bowed, and told Emma to follow her to a room.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So what is your name?” I asked while walking beside the servant. She didn’t say anything at first and I thought that I was going to have another issue like the one I had at the inn. Luckily that wasn’t so.

“My name is Brenda. Who are you?” She asked.

“Well my name is Emma. As to ‘who’ I am, well I guess I’m not anyone.”

“How can you be no one if the King brings you here himself?”

“The King? Do you mean Vincent?” I asked. I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but it is wise to have confirmation.

“Yes, Lord Vincent is the King of Bastion and all of the Lost One’s.” She answered.

“Lost One’s? What is that?”

“Umm, perhaps it is better if Lord Vincent told you. I have a terrible time explaining things to people. I’m afraid I’m just no good at it.” She mumbled shyly.

“That’s alright. We will be talking later about different things, I’m sure that will be one of the things that will come up.”

“I see. Well I hope you get all the answers that you are seeking. Here is the room you will be staying in. If you need anything just ring the bell that is by the door and someone will come to help you. I will be back shortly after I get your bath ready. I’m sure you’ll be wanting one.”

“Yes please! I am in desperate need of a bath. Thank you so much for helping me Brenda.”

“It is not a problem. I will be back soon. Just relax until then.” She said with a smile and little wave.

I didn’t need to be told twice to relax so I flopped onto the huge canopy bed and just stared at the top of it. The curtains were a nice shade of burgundy, more purple than red. It didn’t take long for my eyes to close and soon I was asleep. I was gently shaken awake by none other than Brenda herself, what seemed like a few seconds later. “Oh, hi Brenda. Is the bath ready?”

“Yes about twenty minutes ago. I didn’t know if you wanted me to let you sleep or to wake you up. I hope I haven’t upset you.”

“No you didn’t. I had no intention of falling asleep. I must have been more stressed than I thought. Not being able to speak with others took its toll on me. I am very relieved to be able to talk again.”

“Was your throat hurt?” Brenda asked worriedly.

“Not my throat. It’s hard to explain, but I’m happy things turned out the way they did.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. It must have been fate the way things happened. Anyway your bath is ready so come with me.” She said leading me out of my room.

I followed her down to the end of the hall where she opened a door and steam just wafted into my face. It was cooler inside the palace, but not by that much. Feeling the hot air on my face made me want to sleep again. When we entered the room I noticed that it was huge, and that it was like a bath house. “Brenda,” I started to say, “Is this a communal bath?”

“If you mean that all guests will be sharing the bath, then yes.” When she saw the look of discomfort on my face she added. “If you are worried about people coming in here while you are bathing you can relax. You are the only guest in this wing of the palace. Normally if there is more than one guest here at a time the guests themselves work out bathing schedules.”

“Thank goodness. I’m just not into sharing bathing time with people.” I replied relieved.

“Is it common where you’re from to bath separately from others?”

“Yeah, each house, for the most part, has their own bathroom.”

“So even family members don’t bath together?”

“Not normally. Why, is that how it is done here?”

“Many houses don’t have a bath basin because there is a bath house that everyone shares. There is a time for men to go and a time for women to go. If the women have children then a separate time is scheduled for them as well.”

“That sounds complicated, but if it works for you then that’s all that matters. Of course this being a desert oasis probably has something to do with that as well.”

“Yes you are right. We must use the water we have wisely. Even the fountain in the center of town is used for different purposes. Anyway enough talk, you should bathe quickly so that you will be on time.” Brenda urged.

“On time for what?” I asked.

“Dinner will be ready soon. I’m sure you don’t want to miss that.”

“No I really don’t. By the way I have nothing to change into.” I said thinking about the fiasco the first time I took a bath.

“No worries, I have prepared some garments for you. They are over there by the tub. When you are ready I can help you dress if you want.”

“That will be unnecessary.” I replied. “I really am too embarrassed to ask for help.”

“Very well. I will be waiting outside the door when you are finished. Everything you need should be by the tub.”

“Thanks Brenda. I will be as quick as possible.” I said waiting for her to leave. After she closed the door behind her I walked over to the tub I would be using. There were two different bathing areas in the room. One was a smaller tub for only a few people, and the other was freaking huge tub that could hold an entire army. Or at least that’s what it looked like. Both tubs were built into the ground and made from stone. I don’t know how they managed it but the tub was heated from underneath to keep the water warm.

Not wasting any more time I shed off my clothes and sunk into the water. It was heavenly. I could have stayed in here for hours if I wanted too. Unfortunately I didn’t do that. I was sure that Brenda would be waiting patiently outside for me, and I didn’t want her to think I was being rude. She was a nice woman and I didn’t want to get on her bad side.

I looked at the many bottles that were beside the tub and tried to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do with them. Eventually I just used what I thought was right to wash my hair and body. Whatever the things were that I used they smelled really nice. Soon I was done washing and got grudgingly out of the tub. I reached over to where the clothes were sitting and grabbed the towel. After a quick dry job I put on the clothes. Thank goodness it wasn’t a dress, but some type of loose fitting pants and shirt. They were very thin so that it was comfortable to wear in the extreme heat. They even provided me with new shoes to match. After dressing I went to see Brenda.